Today we fired up the engine and almost ripped the Main RotorShaft out of its mounts. It turned out the we hadn’t tighten up all the mounting bolts. It was one of those things where a second check was not done.
I thought Mike tighten them up and he thought I had. So it was a good reminder that every things need to be checked and rechecked when dealing with high powered objects like an engine.
Today, we connected a temporary water cooling system for the engine start tests.
Tried to start the engine today, but the starter was not able to spin the engine. We ended up taking the starter apart and cleaning it up.
We also had some water thermostat problems. So ended up cleaning some of them up too.
Today, We mounted the Main Rotor Shaft in the main drive sprocket. This is all in preperation to installing the shaft in the helicopters frame.
Sprocket
Today we painted the frame with a glossy white color.
The first challenge was to get the skids off the frame. The main problem is that the engine needed to be supported as to not bend any part of the frame.
The second challenge was re-installing the skids after paintings. The problem was that none of the mounting hole lined up. So we ended up having to drill new mounting holes on the skids.
Here I am back home
Hi! I’m Rotor, short for Rotorway Exec. Experimental helicopter. As you’ve read, I have been around since 1989 when my master (Jim Burrow) bought the first of nine groups from Rotorway Corporation.
Back in the early 90s (before my master lost his job) I was nothing more than a frame. But shortly after my master purchased the first group, Rotorway Corporation went out of business, so my master had to find parts for me from the secondary market.
The first thing he did was to make a mode of my body, tube and panels. Then he put me together for a rough fit and installed my engine (Evin – see the re-birth of an engine).
But, shortly their after, he lost his job and I and Evin sat in the garage for the next 10 years without being touched.
To here my story, please see my video, “Re-birth of Rotor”, on YouTube.com